Bleeding Ear Music in the Meadows of Heaven
by night-rainbow27
Summary: Story #3. A little surprise for Kurama who finds himself by himself with Iris in a rather amusing situation. One-shot.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters (even though only one shows up in this tory) and I certainly don't own the songs mentioned in ths story, though i DEARLY wish i did.

© Nightwish, for those who don't know.

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Kurama's POV

(a few months after they find out about her powers)

It was a beautiful day up in the Alps. It was rarely a bad day up there and I had a feeling – that I obviously haven't shared with anybody – that Iris had a lot to do with that. Silly, right? I know. That's why I didn't share it with anybody in the first place. Yusuke and Kuwabara would have those hilarious, yet almost identical grins on their faces and laugh at me. Hiei… would most likely say that I should I shouldn't dwell on such ridiculous matters. Botan, though sensitive, would probably break into a grin herself too, hug me tightly, then shake my by the shoulders and tell me that life is short and to ask her out. I shook my head. None of them would understand. Why ruin our friendship over something that might it because she doesn't return my feelings or it wouldn't last?

I felt content to keep this little secret with me and ponder on it every time I saw her smiling face. My mouth curled involuntarily at the mere thought of it.

I was walking my way up to her cabin with some groceries I got from the nearby ('nearby' being the closest grocery store, but not exactly close) store. I woke up early this morning, and said that she deserved some help and thanks at the same time for hosting us every time.

I was by myself, because the others left early on to search for clues on the newest mission. For once in a long time, I gave myself the freedom not to join them.

As I walked a few more steps, the chimney of her cabin came into view, then the roof and slowly the entire house. It looked so right in the scenery, I could hardly imagine it without the cabin, and yet…it was less than a decade old.

I picked up speed, eager to get there and spend some quality time with her until the team got back.

I made my way toward the door on the paved path embraced by flowers that I knew she planted herself, until…I heard something that caught my attention and froze. It wasn't a sound that I ever heard in such a peaceful place. And then I heard it again, and now that I was alert, I knew that it came from inside the house.

I remained still and silent, didn't even breathe, waiting for the sound a third time to see if I could identity it before I broke inside. And there it was again. And I _did_ identify it. I smiled broadly and let my muscles relax. It was the bass sound from her home theater system.

Then I shook my head and laughed out loud. Iris must've thought I went with the others. She obviously didn't think anybody would be coming back anytime soon. I knew she tended to turn the music loud…I noticed that when I caught her listening to music with her headphones. But… I shook my head again, at loss of words.

I braced myself and stepped inside, because she left the door unlocked.

First, I noticed the sound. The heavy sound of an electric guitar and rapid drums filled my eardrums that I could barely hear myself think. I heard the singer's voice, a woman, but I didn't pay attention to the lyrics.

Jack, her friendly husky that had the habit of jumping on visitors excidetly, was out of sight, clearly somewhere upstairs, in the other end of the house, away from the racket.

Second, I noticed the smell, and it made my mouth water. Steak. She was already preparing dinner for us. I gave props to myself for the timing with the groceries; I just hoped I got everything she needed.

And third, as I walked further into the house, I got a clear view of the kitchen from where I was standing, right by the speakers (which by the way, I'm surprised they didn't make my years bleed). Third, I noticed Iris. Casually dressed in jeans and black tank top, she was singing loudly by the lyrics, not to mention dancing to the beat of the drums between adding spices.

I smiled, got out of sight before she could notice me, put the grocery bags down, and walked to the other end of the hall where I had another clear view of the kitchen and I could see her back.

Her long, flowy black hair was tied in a high ponytail and when she would look to the side I could see her lips moving, though I couldn't hear her sing because the speakers were too loud. When she would wait on something, she would dance her way gracefully around in the kitchen, ler eyes never leaving the stove.

Once, she even went completely still, and the room went quiet. The next moment, she raised her hands up in the air the same time the drums went on again and, with her eyes closed in concentration, she howled "Seven days to the wolves," her lips breaking into a smile, opened her eyes and continued in the same manner. I had to bite my tongue not to laugh out loud.

Another time, when the song changed and she was waiting for the butter to melt, I saw her leaning against the counter, her head bobbing in the beat of the drum, her hand tapping her thigh in the same rhythim. Her full lips were pressed together because the song didn't have any lyrics.

I sat there, for quite a while, not sure if I could put it in minutes or hours. I just sat there, watching her, smiling when she would get animated, though she never forgot about the food. Now I have an example for what she told me once, about her being milti-tasking.

When I decided I should finally make my presence noticed, I slipped by the speakers, and, watching her reaction, I truned them down almost completely off abruptly. I almost laughed at loud, because her body froze and her voice faded in mid-sentence. Iris turned around sharply, scowling as if it was the speakers' fault and saw me instead. Her face turned a deep shade of scarlet and her eyes widened, though after she got over the shock, she smiled, clearly glad to see me.

When she spoke, her voice sounded steady, though surprised. "What are you doing home?"

I lifted the grocery bags and I saw her swallow, trying to regain her composure. "I went shopping."

"Thank you," she stammered. We put the things to their rightful place in silence. When we were done, she seemed to be pondering on something. I remained quiet, waiting for her to speak her mind.

Finally, she said, in a would-be actual voice, "For how long have you been home?"

It took a lot of self-control, but I managed to keep my face straight, even show confusion at the apparent surprising question. "I just got here," I said, my slightly frowning. "Why?"

Iris shrugged nonchalantly. She turned toward the stove to watch the progress of her meal and I saw her sigh in relief and smile. Then she said, "I hope your hungry."

"Starved," I shared her smile and let the background music flow between us. Now that the sound was reasonable, I could distinguish the lyrics. Once, I distinctly caught the words "meadows of heaven."


End file.
